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| Funds raised by PEARR go to Women In Distress of Broward County, Inc., the only state certified, nationally accredited, full-service domestic violence center in the county. Women In Distress provides victims of domestic abuse with a 24-hour hotline, shelter, counseling, and educational programs. |
- Are We Really Growing Awareness?
- A Killer's Confession - Too Little Too Late
- How Far Would You Go?
- Independence Day
- growing awareness II
- Growing Awareness...
Sunday, November 04, 2007
Our apologies that we did not have a blog entry for the month of October, ironically, Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Now that October has come and gone, we invite you to share your thoughts, observations, and activities for the month. Tell us how you participated in raising awareness.Women in Distress hosted a series of events including a Candlelight Vigil, in memory of those who lost their lives to domestic violence during this past year. It was a moving ceremony held on the front steps of the Main Library in downtown Fort Lauderdale. Survivors, families of the remembered, law enforcement, prosecutors, victim advocates, and WID volunteers were all in attendance. It was scheduled for 6pm on a predictably humid October evening in the middle of the work week, a seemingly accommodating day and time for the average community member to come and show his or her support.
So then why did it appear that this vigil was one which was already preaching to the choir? To be sure, the vigil was both sad and inspiring, hopeful and heartbreaking – and those in attendance were clearly dedicated to the eradication of domestic violence and all that it entails. But that’s just the point. These participants are committed and have been committed for years. They are aware and enlightened. They know full well that this vigil is a necessary evil of sorts, one whose very existence sadly marks another year of murder and devastating loss.
The question becomes how can we literally expand awareness into the community, so that people who happen to be driving by will stop and listen…so that professionals who work in the nearby office buildings make it their business to walk over to the library for twenty minutes before heading home.
We all work so hard to raise awareness. We want victims to know that it’s okay to walk away. We want abusers to know that it’s not okay to scream, hit, murder. We want everyone to know that domestic violence is not endemic to a specific population, but cuts across race, gender, and socio-economic class. But is it really working? One of our members shared with us the following story. She recently went to visit her family in an affluent neighborhood in the Northeast. Her mother told her that their synagogue recently hired a new director, a thirty-something woman with two young children. Shortly after she began working, the director and her husband went through an acrimonious divorce. Ultimately, the director had to get a restraining order against her estranged husband. Our member told us that her mother expressed that the community was shocked that this was occurring in their collective backyards. This PEARR member/WID volunteer who had shared her involvement in issues involving violence against women with her family for years, was shocked by her mother’s shock. It’s one thing to be upset or even horrified by and for what this woman must endure – but shock? Domestic violence is pervasive. Have we not made that clear enough? Had she not made that clear to her mother after all of these years? Are we doing something wrong?
Ironically, this blog entry itself is just another example of preaching to the choir. Most of you are reading this because you are already committed. So we encourage you to share it with those who may need to be “converted.” By doing so, please share our hope for next year – that there not be a need for a vigil, but if there is, it’s one that says one murder is one too many, with so many voices saying so that we create a traffic jam in downtown Fort Lauderdale.
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